"All my life I have never felt loved and wanted, so don't fuck with me now."
He sat with his head down on the cold floor in the corner of his room, hugging his knees to his chest tightly to keep the violent tremors at bay. He was partially hidden by the curtain, and all he could think of was blending in with the darkness. No one would be able to find him. He wouldn't have to fight and fail all the time. He would be set free.
Aahana gulped the knot in her throat and rushed towards him.
"Atharva?" She crouched down to his level and tried to pry his hands away, but he yanked them free and tightened his arms around his body, rocking himself back and forth.
"Please, please leave me," he mumbled under his breath, his voice hoarse and faintly audible.
"Look at me," she pleaded and gently grabbed the sides of his head, lifting his face to make him look at her. She felt all the air leave her chest noticing his puffy, red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
His breathing became labored when his eyes locked with hers, and every emotion was evident in them for her to see. She was flooded with his pain, sadness, anger, and most of all.... vulnerability, almost drowning in them.
Her lips parted, but before she could manage to speak, he shook his head and pulled away from her, cornering himself against the wall, his eyes closing of their own accord.
Aahana didn't know what to do. She had never encountered this kind of situation before. But seeing him, lost like a child, she couldn't help but shuffle closer to him and wrap him in her arms.
He tensed.
"What happened?" she asked, soothingly rubbing his back, but it didn't calm him like she hoped it would. If anything, he tensed even more and tossed his head from side to side, thrashing in her arms to let him go.
Call it instinct, but leaving him alone did not feel right. She pulled him closer, her grasp around him gentle yet firm as her fingers combed through his chestnut hair.
She cooed sweet nothings in his ear and after what felt like an eternity sitting there, he relaxed in her hold and buried his face in the crook of her neck, hesitantly wrapping his trembling arms around her waist.
She continued to tell him everything was okay, and he felt her words worm their way into his heart, spreading warmth within him, and he felt okay.
He heaved a sigh and drew back to look at her. She wiped his cheeks, then rose to her feet, extending her hand to him. He stared at it, blinking, before taking it and standing up.
She smiled slightly and walked him to his bed, making him lie down. He did so without hesitation. She pulled the comforter over him and froze when her eyes landed on the left side of his neck.
A red bruise, or more like a hickey.
She recoiled from him as if he had burned her but he just stared at her, emotionless, not comprehending her sudden change.
Is he cheating on me? No...
She let out a breath and gazed into his eyes. Somehow, she knew he would never and that made her curse herself for the absurdity of her thought.
"Can you get up?" she asked, her voice coming out lower than a whisper, but with the silence surrounding them, her words were clearly audible.
Still, he couldn't bring himself to move. He welcomed pain when it came because it was all he had, to know he was alive. But right now, he felt numb to the bones. His mind couldn't process anything but replay everything.
"Listen to me, please," she repeated, reaching out to him. He flinched in response, clutching the comforter tightly and covering his face in an attempt to block her out.
"Come on, Atharva." She closed the gap between them and lowered the comforter.
He whimpered, panic flashing in his eyes. "Please, no."
Her heart burned. "I won't hurt you."
He swallowed hard before sitting up. Little drops of sweat coated his forehead, sliding to his neck as he stared at her.
"Can you take off you T-shirt?"
"Don't, please."
"I-I need to make sure." She tugged at the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. His hands immediately flew to cover himself but it was too late. Aahana had seen everything, and she wished she hadn't.
A gasp escaped her lips in horror. She could never fathom anything like this. Pink and red bruises all over his body, cuts and scars in his wrist, arms, stomach, lot of them.
"Oh, God." Aahana's eyes widened in bewilderment, brimming with unshed tears. She brought her hand to touch them, which was a mistake on her part.
He inched away and fell back on the bed, his chest heaving up and down in an irregular rhythm.
"What should I do?" She clamped a clammy hand over her mouth and backed away from him.
He wouldn't stop trembling.
"Atharva, tell me..." Her eyes danced around the room for his phone. "Let me call the doctor."
"No." He clutched his head; his voice ragged as he raised his fingers in the direction of his table. "Me-medicine."
She frowned and rushed to his table, quickly grabbing a white bottle and a glass of water.
"Here." He took it from her and gulped it like a starved beast. Finally, his heart stopped racing, and she breathed out in relief. She realized this was the tablet he always took, the one she'd found that day.
She helped him sit up and smoothed out the hair from his face and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.
"Who did this to you?"
He lowered his eyes to the floor.
She made her way to his giant closet and took out his boxers and towel and placed them in his hand. "You need a shower. Come." She grabbed his hand and took him inside the washroom and ran the water until it was warm. "I will be outside, okay? Finish in 10 minutes."
She closed the door behind her and looked in his room for the first aid kit. Her eyebrows shot up when she found it in his bedside drawer. He must have used the box recently.
Exactly in 10 minutes, he came out, his hair wet and messy, wearing only his boxers. Aahana could see the water glistening down his torso and in spite of the marks marring his skin, he was amazingly well-built with sculpted muscles, and don't even get started on those washboard abs.
A blush crept her cheeks and she suddenly felt shy seeing him shirtless. She had never seen a man before, well not like this except for in movies. She breathed and looked up at his face. He stood still; his eyes trained on the floor like before.
Aahana tried to calm her speeding heartbeat and cleared her throat. Now was not the time to let such thoughts muddle her head. She needed to be here for him. "Come here." She motioned for him to sit on the bed, and he did so timidly. She took the ointment and massaged it gently on his wounds before bandaging the fresh ones.
She brought a T-shirt from his closet and pulled it over his head.
All the while, he stayed silent, looking down at his feet with his fingers tapping on his thighs.
"Hungry?" she asked and left the room, leaving Atharva stunned. She was back within a few minutes with a plate of food. Thankfully, she'd stored it in the fridge, and all she had to do was heat it in the oven.
She sat beside him with the plate on her lap and started feeding him.
He frowned. He didn't want to be treated like a child, but for once, he swallowed without any protest, because it felt good. He liked it.
Once he was done eating, she tucked him to bed and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.
His eyes fluttered close involuntarily.
She didn't want to leave him, so she sat on a chair and grasped his hand in hers, her thumb rubbing small circles on his palm.
She stared at his peaceful expression and smiled to herself. She could feel her love for him grow even more, and now she wasn't going to divorce him, not when she knew he needed her a lot.
Several questions bombarded her mind. She knew she hadn't gained his trust yet, so it was her who had to find out the answers on her own.
As she thought about all the events from the beginning of their marriage to now, over and over again, it led her to only one conclusion and she felt a chill run down her spine, turning her blood to ice.
She wanted to be wrong, but after what she saw...Her throat closed up, and she couldn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks.
Stupid, so fucking stupid.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, resting her forehead against his hand.
What do you think Aahana found out? Is her theory correct? And poor Atharva, he is so precious. 🥺 Let me know what you think in the comments section below!